Electric distributing system.



C. LE G. FORTESCUE.

ELECTRIC DISTRIBUTING SYSTEM. APPLICATION m2!) MIAYB. 1915.

1,227,772. Patented May 29, 1917.

I I I N I In WITNESSES. INVENTCR ATTORNEY rent railway systems,

CHABLES IE G. FOBTESCUE, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO WEST- HIGHOUSE ELECTRIC AND MANUFACTURING COMPANY,

' SYLVANIA.

Specification of Letters lPatent.

A CORPORATION OF PENN- ELECTBIC DISTRIBUTING SYS'IEII-- Patented May 29, 1917.

Application tiled Kay 8, 1915. Serial No. 28,484.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, Cir-mass LE G. Fore rescue, a subject of the King of Great Britain, and a resident of Pittsburgh, in the county of Allegheny and tit-ate of Pennsyl- \ania, have invented a new and useful linprovernent in Electrical Distributing Systerns, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to electrical distrib' uting systems, and it has special reference to means for minimizing inductive disturbances in electrical circuits that may be caused by other circuits which are located in proximity thereto.

More particularly, myinvention is applicable to 'the'protection of telephone. telegraph and other circuits utilized for'tho transmission of intelligence, which are very susceptible to slight inductive disturbances and are paralleled for longer or shorter distances by circuits utilized for thc transmission of power by alternating currents.

When telephone, telegraph and like circuits are in proximity to circuits carrying alternating currents, such as alternating carthe electromotive forces induced in'the intelligence transmission circuits disturb and frequently preclude their successful operation. Consider, for example, an alternating current railway system in which a trolley wire constitutes one of the supply conductors for a moving load, and the track rails, eitherjaalonc or in conjunction with the grou' ud constitute the other supply conductor. when a moving vehicle receives power from the trolley conductor, a primary circuit comprising a single convolution of varying length is formed which may induce alternating clect-romotiveforce's in a secondary circuit. as for example, a telephone or telegraph circuit that is located partially or wholly in proximity thereto.

The disturbing electromotivc forces induced in a secondary circuit of the aforementioned character, dcpentbupon the distance between tl'te intelligence transmission system or secondary circuit, and the railway system or primary circuit, the amount. the rate of variation, and the dimetiothoisthe- -current flowing in the primary system. If

a 'continuous trolley is employed and re ceives current from several substations. a

moving car or locmuotive will receive current not only from the sub-stations immediately adjacent thereto, but also from sub stations remote therefrom. In railway systems heretofore installed, those sub-stations which are intermediate the'point of load supply and the main power station, will supply greater amounts of current to the load point than those substations on the far side, of the load point. Thisunequal current supply is a result of the impedance offered by the feeder system to the flow of the load currents, the impedance of the feeders increasing as the substations are removed from the main power station. \Vhen unequal currergsietlow over the trolley conductor in oppos' dir ect-ions to the point of lpad 'supply, the 'electromotive forces in- (peed in the adjacent secondary or telephone circuit will be unbalanced, inasmuch as the ampere-miles on the side of'the load adjacent to the main power house will be substantially greater than the ampere-miles on the side of -the load remote from the power house.

An object of my invention, therefore, is to minimize inductive disturbances in a secondary, ortelephone circuit by substantially precluding the-flow therein of unbalanced induced currents which may result from a moving load upon the primary or railway circuit hich is supplied with power from a plurality of substations that are removed longer or shorter distances from the main power house.

It, is essential on very long and heavily loaded railu ay systems toso dispose the substations that the power. currents flowing therefrom will assist in minimizing the resu ltant voltages induced in a telephone or lllorenver. the current supplied from each ofthe. said substations would be inversely proportioual to the impedance of the vtrolley wir'c extending from ea'clnof said substations up to the load point.

total ampere-miles in the section ofthc sys- A sa'result. the--- tern between the. two active substations would be zero because of the oppositely directed flow of the load currents from the two active substations. (.onsequently, the resultant electromotive forces induced in the adjacent telephone circuit would be zero, since none of the other substations connected to the system would contribute any portion of the load currents.

Because the above-mentioned conditions cannot be realized in any railway installation, I have invented the system described herein and illustrated in the single figure of the accompanying drawing.

An alternating current generator 1, which, for simplicity, is represented as asin'gle phase generator, supplies power through a step-u transformer 2 to a feeder circuit comprising high-tension conductors 3 and 4.; It will be understood that the milway system is suflicicntly long to necessitate'the use of a plurality of spaced substations such ment bdtw as represented at 567 and 8. Each of the above-mentioned substations comprises a step-down transformer 9, the low-tension winding-10 of which supplies power to a trolleyconductor 11 and atrack 12. Inasmuch as the track 12 is grounded, it may be advisableunder certain circumstances, to ground those terminals of the low-tension windings l0 whic are shown in the drawing as being eonnecte to thetrack 12. Located in inductive proiimity to the trolls conductor 11 is a con uctor 13 of an intel igence transmission systei n, such, for example, as a. telephone system. Y Ordi arily, when a moving vehicle, 14 traversesi the railway system a very large portion of the current supplied to the load 14 will come from the sub-stations 5 and 6 which are interposed intermediate the point of load supply and the source of ower supply 1. The sub-stations 7 and 8, owever, will also su ply current to the load 14, but, because 0 the greater impedance of the circuit intervening between the power houses 7 and 8 and the source of supply 1, the substations 7 and 8 will not contribute their share of the load. As a result, the electromotive forces induced in the adjacent'telehon e circuit 13 by reason of the oppositelj directed and unequal current flow over the trolley 11, will be unbalanced and the disturbances resultin therefrom may interfere with the success ul operation of the telephone circuit.

To overcome the above-mentioned difficulty, I have deliberately inserted reactance elements in the supply or feeder circuit in order to compensate for the increase of impedance of the supply system as the distance from the source of power supply 1 increases. To this end, I have inserted a reactance elethe transformers 9 and the trolley conductor een the secondary windings 10 of.

circuit with the secondary winding of the transformer 9 of the power house 5, a reactance element 16 is inserted in circuit with the secondary winding of the transformer S) of the power house (5, and a reactancc element 17 is inserted in circuit with the secondary winding of the transformer 9 of the power house 7. The transformer 9 of the sub-station 8 at the end of the line is directly connected to the railway circuit without the use of a reactance element.

Each of the reactance elements 15, 16 and 17 are so adjusted that the impedances in r serted in the secondary circuits of the transformers 9 progressively decrease as their,

distances from the power house increase, the artificial impedance becoming substantially zero at the sub-station 8 at the end of the line. With a proper proportioning of these reactance elements, it is possible to obtain 'proper compensation for the extreme load condition upon the railway system, and to obtain only-small resultant ositive and negative induced voltages on the telephone circuit 13, when the loads meat. the end of the railway s stem and near the-power house, respective y. If, in addition, the transform ers 9 are so designed as to have egr'tremely low internal reqctance, a furthergigduction in inductive glisturbances upon the tale hone circuit 13 may be obtained without su stantially increasing the risk of danger accruing to the' sub-station transformers 9 under short circuit conditions.

In accordance with the above method for.

compensating for the unequal reactances of the supply or feeder circuit comprising the conductors 3. and 4, the inductive disturbances impressed upon the telephone circuit 13, which is'adjacent to the railway system,

are greatly minimized, because the ampereings connected at spaced intervals tothe common power sup 1y circuit, of mactance elements connecte in circuit with said transformers, the reactance ofi'ered by said reactance elements rogressively decreasing in amount as their istance from the source of current su 1y increases.

- 2. The com mation with a source of current suplply, transmission line conductors connecte thereto, a common power sup 1y circuit, and spaced transformers having thereto, a common power supply. formers havmi' their primary windings connected to said transmission line and their secondary windings connected at spaced intervals to the common power supply circuit, of reactance elements connected in circuit with said transformers, the reactance elements being so adjusted that the ampere milcs on both sides of a load point on said common power supply circuit are substantially equal in value.

3. The combination with a source of current supply and feeders connected thereto, of a power supplytsystem, transformers for connecting at spaced intervals'said power supply system to said feeders, and reactance elements connected in circuit with said transformers, said reactance elements being so adjusted that the rea'etance offered there-' by progressively varies, in amountas their distance from the source of current supply varies.

4. The combination with a source of current supply and feeders connected thereto, of a power supply system, transformers for connecting at spaced intervals said power supply system to said feeders; and 'reactance elements connected in transformers, the reactance elements being so adjusted that theampere-miles on both sides of a moving load point on .said -power supply system are substantially equal in value.

circuit with said I 5. The combination with a source of current supply and lenders connected thereto, of a railway system comprising a trolley conductor, transformers for connecting at spaced intervals said trolley conductor to said feeders, and reactancc elements connected in circuit with said transformers to offer impedance to the currents supplied to said trolley, so adjusted thatthe reactance ofi'ered thereby progressively varies in amount as the distance from the source of current supply varies.

6. The combination with a. source of currcnt supply and feeders connected thereto, of a railway system comprising a trolley conductor, transformers for connecting at spaced intervals saidtrolley conductor to said feeders. and reactance elements connccted in circuit with said transformers to offer impedance to the currents supplied to said trolley, the reactance elements bein so adjusted that the umpere'miles on both sides of a power consuming vehicle moving. on

the railway system are substantially equal in value.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto said rcactance elements being subscribed my name this 29th day of April CHARLES LE G. FORTESCUE. 

